Al-Marri 'very happy' with 8-year sentence

Friday

Oct 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2009 at 10:54 AM

After eight years of not knowing, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri got what he wanted - a sense of when he could return home. The 44-year-old Qatari national praised Allah as U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm sentenced him Thursday to eight years and four months in federal prison, slightly less than half the 15 years sought by federal prosecutors for his ties to al-Qaida.

Andy Kravetz

After eight years of not knowing, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri got what he wanted - a sense of when he could return home.

The 44-year-old Qatari national praised Allah as U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm sentenced him Thursday to eight years and four months in federal prison, slightly less than half the 15 years sought by federal prosecutors for his ties to al-Qaida.

The judge said he was compelled to give consideration to that time spent in military custody - the government had opposed that - saying it was necessary "in order to reflect respect for the law and reflect just punishment."

"We are defined as a people by how we deal with difficult and unpopular legal issues," he said.

However, the judge also acknowledged comments by a prosecutor who said al-Marri failed to renounce al-Qaida after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Mihm said he believed al-Marri was a risk "to re-associate with the people who brought him here."

Andy Savage, one of al-Marri's attorneys, said that with about two years served in civilian custody and because federal prisoners can earn up to 54 days each year of "good-time" credit, al-Marri could get out of prison in about five years.

"He's very, very happy," Savage said several hours after the hearing and after he talked to members of al-Marri's family. "His faith in the American justice system and the Constitution were fulfilled."

Al-Marri pleaded guilty in April to providing material support to al-Qaida, in that he volunteered to come to the United States just before Sept. 11, 2001, and participate in an as-yet undetermined mission for the terrorist organization.

In an emotional eight-minute statement, al-Marri vowed he would never again wish harm upon the American people. Speaking with a heavy accent, he often broke down in tears, especially when talking about his children or his wife.

"My religious beliefs - refined through years of thoughtful prayer and study during my incarceration - I realize prohibit me from engaging in violence toward any man. I forcefully reject any sort of violence for religious, political or other reasons," he said.

His shoulders shrugged greatly and he paused often as he talked about missing key moments of his children's lives including, "the first words of his youngest child."

Al-Marri praised his legal team and called Savage and his wife, Cheryl, his "brother and sister."

Mihm's sentence of 100 months reflects a 71-month reduction from the 15-year maximum for the time spent at a U.S. Naval brig in South Carolina, time the federal Bureau of Prisons had indicated it would not credit al-Marri for.

The judge further reduced the sentence by nine months to reflect the harsh conditions and the lengthy isolation al-Marri underwent during his 5 1/2 years at the brig where he was held without charges as an "enemy combatant."

Mihm said al-Marri's case posed unique legal questions regarding the indefinite incarcerations of enemy combatants. The case also could reverberate beyond Peoria's federal courthouse, as detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, possibly use this sentence as a way to argue for less time in custody.

Over the two-day sentencing, defense attorneys argued al-Marri was a changed man, one who had rejected terrorism and disavowed violence.

A video was also played showing an interview last year with one of al-Marri's older brothers and featuring his children reading school lessons aloud, playing soccer and riding bikes. As the images were shown on the screen, al-Marri put his head in his hands on the table. Afterward, he dabbed his eyes and wiped his nose.

But prosecutors painted a different picture. Joanna Baltes, an attorney with the Justice Department's counterterrorism division, noting that about two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, al-Marri who entered the country on Sept. 10, continued to reach out to his al-Qaida superiors.

"Well aware of what happened on Sept. 11, he could have disavowed al-Qaida at this point but he continued to try to contact them," she said.

Baltes also disagreed with defense attorneys' statements that al-Marri had no idea what he was doing here or that he was a low-level lackey. Rather, she said, he prepared at terrorist training camps, where he received military training and learned about poisons.

Judge Mihm agreed.

"I don't believe you are a lackey. That would be an insult to your intelligence and to the commitment you made when you came here as a sleeper agent for al-Qaida. I believe that you have not totally rejected what you did, and that you would do it again after you go home, whether here or somewhere else. That remains to be seen," the judge said.